Why I left Weight Watchers new "Freestyle" Program

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  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    Katerbels wrote: »
    Years ago I did WW, back before smart phones and apps. My points calculator was the cardboard sliding thing, you wrote all your meals down on a little flip card thing, you went to meetings once a week and looked things like apples and chicken up in books you had to buy (I didn't have them, which meant I was afraid to eat them). I lost weight, but I found myself eating a LOT more processed foods, simply because it was easier to find out how many points were in it when it had the nutritional information on the label. I stopped after a few months.
    I joined MFP (it's been a 'few' years now) because I couldn't justify the cost of WW, and counting calories wasn't all that difficult when there's a database, and later on a much better app you can use daily. I've lost weight using MFP on several occasions (lack of discipline, exercise and periods of going way off the wagon have me coming back time and time again when I should just stick to it once and for all) and have really no complaints about it. I've learned so much about CICO, Macros, Nutrition, Exercise etc. than I ever learned about health and nutrition from a WW meeting.
    A week or so ago, a large group of people in a group I'm in on Facebook were going on and on about the new Freestyle system, and the commercials were on all the time. It was free to join, so on a whim I invested $20 for the first month (online only, no meetings) to see what it was all about. So many foods I eat normally are 'free' now, so it seemed like a great idea at the time. As you can tell, after only a week, I'm already looking forward to cancelling my membership and coming back to MFP.
    I know how easy it is to think "Bananas are free, so I'll have 7 today" and think you're doing a good thing when really you've eaten hundreds of calories, so I've been trying to use both WW and MFP to see which system I liked better and also to hold myself accountable for even the 'free' foods. Their food database is so much smaller it can be hard to find things, and often when you search for a keyword the list of 'top hits' has nothing to do with what you're looking for, which I find irritating. One day I splurged more than I normally would, but was only just over my daily calories and still within maintenance but was way over on my points. Chicken may be free, but they penalize you for things like rice or pasta, and if you use any sort of fat to cook with forget it. I joined a few groups on FB for support, and once again I see a LOT of posts / recipes for packaged or processed food hacks or exclusive sugar or fat free items when the 'real' item really isn't that high in calories if you can control your portions. Plus, I'd rather use a small amount of actual butter (5 points) or olive oil (4 points) than something I have to spray on. They say nothing is off limits, but the reality is that the hit to your daily points can be so high on something so small that you find yourself thinking 'Is this worth it?' And worse, going grocery shopping without proper research is a bit of a nightmare when you're used to looking at labels to know whether or not it's going to be OK for your daily allowance.
    All in all, I think it's a learning curve and I'm sure if I stuck with it long enough I could feel comfortable with it like I am here...but for the monthly cost I don't want to wait and see if that's the case. I'd rather spend the $20 on something fun, and use this app that I already love and feel comfortable with.

    So WW is still on the "fats are bad and will make you fat" bandwagon?
  • Katerbels
    Katerbels Posts: 106 Member
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    Not necessarily anti-fat, or anti anything really, but the points do seem excessive on some things. Like you're being punished if you eat chicken thighs vs chicken breasts lol
  • Kezzah183
    Kezzah183 Posts: 21 Member
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    I actually got banned from ww for “losing weight to quickly” no support what do ever. I’ll never go back to them
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    Katerbels wrote: »
    Not necessarily anti-fat, or anti anything really, but the points do seem excessive on some things. Like you're being punished if you eat chicken thighs vs chicken breasts lol

    I would say that charging 5 points out of the typical 23 for day is quite an excessive penalty and definitely implies that fat is to be avoided. That's over 20%of points for an entire day.
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
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    Katerbels wrote: »
    Years ago I did WW, back before smart phones and apps. My points calculator was the cardboard sliding thing, you wrote all your meals down on a little flip card thing, you went to meetings once a week and looked things like apples and chicken up in books you had to buy (I didn't have them, which meant I was afraid to eat them). I lost weight, but I found myself eating a LOT more processed foods, simply because it was easier to find out how many points were in it when it had the nutritional information on the label. I stopped after a few months.

    I did that plan too, and attended meetings. The slider made it easy to figure out foods at the grocery store. I liked the little weekly booklets - I'd write the date and my gain/loss on the front cover and keep them, so if I was struggling I could go back to a week that had been successful and see what I had done. I lost 36 pounds on it, then gained 15 of them back while still going to meetings. Just couldn't stop the slide, so I ended up leaving. I tried the WW online about a year ago and that was a disaster. As a runner and triathlete, I believe in carbs.
  • gfjazz
    gfjazz Posts: 285 Member
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    Well I am newtral for now WW free is not working eating 200 free items they have calories so for me it's not working
    I am back to smRpoints for now.facebook is like exploding with WW free overs and those members WW free not working
    The meetings are filled with so much hope and the new members expect the weigh to fly off.also they do not emphasize exercise.i do at least 60 min a day since dec 30 my mini goL exercise
  • Katerbels
    Katerbels Posts: 106 Member
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    Yes I agree, 5 points is a lot and does feel like a punishment. Things with carbs, fats, sugar, etc all get higher points than I think it's really 'fair', so saying that nothing is off limits isn't completely true in my opinion. Yes, you can have avocado toast, a cookie and some pasta... But not on the same day lol. Also, a banana may be 'free' but if you puree it and put it in a smoothie there are points in it. It's too much for me to sit and figure out.
    I did well way back in the day, but like I said I felt I was eating way more processed and pre packaged foods than I was things that were actually healthy. I find it easier to count the calories in an apple, and know that using olive oil or full fat cheese won't ruin my whole day.
  • Kathryn41057
    Kathryn41057 Posts: 181 Member
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    I’ve been on WW off and on for years. With the new program, yes there are over 200 Free Foods, but those free foods still have calories.... and calories do add up. I’m finding the new program sometimes frustrating because, if you want something on the sweet side....you can have it, but your point total for the day is going to take a big hit.. but you also have “weeklies” that you can use to have those extras. I think WW is trying to steer you towards a healthier style of eating, which isn’t a bad thing at all, but when you have something that is “0”points, but is also 200 calories, and you think “Hmm, this is “0” points, so I’ll have 2 servings, you might find your weight loss will stall at some point, and then you start wondering why...... but with counting calories, you know what your intake is for the day, and you go from there
  • MissyCHF
    MissyCHF Posts: 337 Member
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    Aren't WW just thrashing around in a panic because people are leaving them in droves? In the days before we could go on line to count calories a get sensible advice, WW were coining in money. Now we have a wonderful choice and don't need their 'experts' or the sugar filled junk they sell at the meetings.
  • 1houndgal
    1houndgal Posts: 558 Member
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I'm think I'm over WW. I realized this the other night after a hypoglycemia attack when I went way over points but came out to 1500 calories for the day eating cereal to recover from a 6 mile run. Before this I had only had about 900 calories of low and zero point for the day. Then there was thinking about why is 90 calories of plain yogurt free but 90 calories of flavored yogurt have points? Pretty dumb. What sealed it was a Half Sized Me podcast where a gentleman said he felt he was forcing himself to stay on a program he was no longer being genuine to, and it made him feel he was no longer being genuine with himself. I've been feeling the same way for a while. That and I haven't lost or maintained weight consistently since Smart Points. I was free Lifetime but now I'm over. I'm not paying for nothing anymore.
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I'm think I'm over WW. I realized this the other night after a hypoglycemia attack when I went way over points but came out to 1500 calories for the day eating cereal to recover from a 6 mile run. Before this I had only had about 900 calories of low and zero point for the day. Then there was thinking about why is 90 calories of plain yogurt free but 90 calories of flavored yogurt have points? Pretty dumb. What sealed it was a Half Sized Me podcast where a gentleman said he felt he was forcing himself to stay on a program he was no longer being genuine to, and it made him feel he was no longer being genuine with himself. I've been feeling the same way for a while. That and I haven't lost or maintained weight consistently since Smart Points. I was free Lifetime but now I'm over. I'm not paying for nothing anymore.

    You are an athlete. So am I. As athletes we do need to make sure we fuel ourselves for our body and our excercise level. I think you will find MFP is a great program to help you actually see how much and what you are eating. I am a swimmer and after upping my swim workouts I was getting hypoglycemic.

    So I now carry a good protein or other kind of energy bar, or even a bit of candy for severe hypoglycemia attacks. I keep my refuel foods in my gym bag. But if you are doing outdoor runs you may want to keep something on your person. Hope you find MFP helpful to your fitness efforts.
  • zandrathesweetheart
    zandrathesweetheart Posts: 109 Member
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    gooz71 wrote: »
    I left WW this week because the new "Freestyle" program just will not work for me. I have lost over 20 pounds on their smartpoints program.

    WW used to be about flexibility and being able to eat foods you like as long as it fit into your point range. With this latest change, they added 200 food items that are zero points, but by doing this, they took away 7 points a day for everyone. So I went from 30 points a day to 23 points a day. I am a picky eater (and I know they are trying to get people to eat healthier) and most of the foods on the list I wouldn't eat anyway. So I got 7 points taken away for no reason really.

    What really got me was yesterday a member posted on the message board (called connect) about how she wasn't enjoying connect anymore because she was "so tired of reading negativity about the new program and this should only be a positive place." Over 5,000+ members "liked" her post and commented things like "preach girl" or "I agree!" So those of us who are struggling with the new change were basically told to not look to connect for support cause they didn't want to hear it. That is was did it for me. I left a post and said "I hear all 5,000+ members loud and clear and you are right this program is not for me. I don't want to belong to a community where so many people can gang up on the few of us that are struggling." It was a really horrible feeling....to be honest. Talk about not feeling part of a community anymore.

    So here I am, back to MFP, and I am excited to be able to eat what I want within my calorie range and try to make healthier choices along the way! If there is anyone who would like to start a group to support each other please let me know! :)

    I just left WW two days ago because I didn’t lose as much weight on the problem. It stressed me out more than it needed to and the meetings didn’t help me. MFP is something I keep coming back to
  • ztaylor205
    ztaylor205 Posts: 5 Member
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    This zero points food list is amusing-- some of these can be quite caloric (like beans and fatty fish like certain types of salmon.) Even salsa can add up, if you're the kind of person who heaps it on. I've eaten about 1,000 calories of shrimp in a day before (200 grams of protein!) and even that would count as "zero points," because zero times anything is zero.

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